I Don't Want to be Scared
by PurpleSweets13
Summary: Chelsea is afraid... of almost everything. She moves to Sunny Island in hope that some of these fears may disappear. But her many phobias only intensify. She has also attracted the unwanted attention of every single boy on the island. She just need a friend. Someone to help her forget her past and fears. She doesn't want to be scared...
1. Chelsea and her Phobias

**Don't sue me, okay?! I have my reasons! So, I'm basically stuck for ideas on 'Thunder and Lightning' and have decided to put it on hiatus until 'Mystic Moon' is done (next chapter currently under editing). So, I'm gonna put this story up to hear your thoughts and stuff. It was swirling in my head and would not go away!**

_Chapter One: Chelsea and her Phobias_

Chelsea looked over her new farm with a weak smile. She couldn't believe it. She had been able to get this far without fainting or anything! She mentally high-fived herself and walked over to her new house. This would be the first time she entered it since she actually arrived on Sunny Island. She had been staying at the inn for the last week.

The door creeked as Chelsea cautiously opened it. Looking around the new house, her worst fears were awakened. The house was covered in spiderwebs. Spiderwebs can only mean one thing...

"Spider!"

In the corner of the house, a big hairy spider lay waiting. Chelsea imagined it licking its lips and sharpening its fangs, getting ready to eat her whole. The thought terrified her and she ran out of the house screaming. She ran all the way to the edge of her field. She was finally away from that ghastly creature. She let out a relieved sigh and turned around to see...

"Water!"

Once again, she let out a loud scream and ran into the middle of her field. That was close! She could have fallen and drowned or a fish could have jumped up and eaten her whole. Chelsea placed a hand over her racing heart. This was too much for her. Her eyes wandered down to the ground and she froze again.

"Worm!"

You know what? I can't go on telling you this story if you keep snickering! Maybe I should have explained the situation a little better... I thought you would have been more compassionate towards the girl!

Okay, let me see. You can phrase this in many ways. Chelsea's a scaredy-cat. Chelsea's weak. Chelsea's a cry-baby. Or you could be nice and phrase it this way: Chelsea has a lot of phobias.

When I say a lot, I mean a _lot_. Acrophobia, gelotophobia, agrizoophobia, arachnophobia, bathophobia, hydrophobia, entomophobia, coulrophobia, didaskaleinophobia bufonophobia, dishabiliophobia, ligyrophobia, ophidiophobia, scoleciphobia, lygophobia, ochlophobia, suriphobia, zoophobia and many, many more. And they have haunted Chelsea her entire life.

As you can imagine, phobias are hard to live with. You see people who are terrified of one thing but can go on about their normal lives avoiding this one thing. But what are you supposed to do when you're terrified of almost everything? It's very hard...

Chelsea wiped the forming tears away from her eyes. Why? Why was she petrified of everything?! It wasn't fair! She felt the tears rolling down her face and froze. Water... Her breath got heavy as she watched the tear slowly fall off her face. She let out a small sigh of relief.

Chelsea wandered around the field, kicking up the dirt with her red rubber boots. How was she supposed to farm when she was terrified that she might dig up an insect. Or worse, a worm. The thought of the ugly, slimy creature appeared in her mind. Chelsea clutched her head with her hands and shook it hard. She didn't need this!

Out of frustration, she ran down the dirt trail towards the town. She sniffled and wiped the tears away before they could run down her face. Stupid. Stupid life, stupid farm, stupid spiders, stupid worms and, most importantly, stupid phobias!

Chelsea, with her eyes glued to the ground in shame, didn't watch where she was going and bumped into someone. Or rather, something. Lying flat on her back, she mumbled a lame "ow" and opened her eyes. To find herself staring into two black eyes. Two black cow eyes. The cow stood over her, breathing its warm, sticky breath onto Chelsea's face. Chelsea's eyes widened and the cow let out an enormous "Mooooo!"

Chelsea screamed. She quickly scrambled out from underneath the terrifying creature and slowly backed away. That cow was plotting to kill her, she could tell! It was written all over its face!

"Hey! Grab that cow!"

Chelsea heard a voice in the background. It told her to grab the cow. Touch... That... Cow... She didn't move. Her eyes quivered as she stared at the cow. The cow stared back. Their eyes locked in a staring contest. Chelsea knew she was going to lose. All the cow had to do was move. And it did. The cow took one step closer to Chelsea.

Another scream was heard. Chelsea turned to run back to her farm but something stopped her. The voice she had heard earlier.

"Hey! I thought I told you to grab the cow. Jeez, it could have gotten away, thanks for nothing..."

Chelsea turned around to look at her accuser. Her damp cerulean eyes met with cold amythest ones. Chelsea tried to find her voice but it was very hard with both the evil cow and this mysterious person staring at her.

"I-I... Wh-what I mean is... I-I don't think I-I could..."

Tears sprung back into her eyes again. Why was she so useless?! She buried her face into her hands. A look of shock and pure uncomfortableness filled her accuser's face.

"Shit, why do I always do that..."

They placed a gloved hand uncomfortably on her shoulder. Chelsea looked up through water-filled eyes. The pair of eyes, although still cold and distant, looked slightly concerned. Chelsea covered her face with one hand embarrassed. The other hand lay limply at her side. She gave one finally sniff and wiped her nose with the back of her hand.

"I-I'm sorry for... For, uh, crying..." Chelsea managed to stutter, her glossophobia kicking in. She adverted her eyes quickly, and suddenly found the ground quite interesting.

"Uh, it's okay?" It sounded more like a question than anything else. Chelsea held out her hand to the mysterious person, still admiring the ground.

"I-I, um... My n-name is Chelsea. I-I'm the new, uh, farmer..."

Her hand was shook, gently but firmly. Chelsea's whole body froze up, suddenly remembering her haphephobia. The other person noticed and quickly removed their hand.

"Vaughn," he replied curtly. Chelsea looked up long enough to take in his appearance before returning to examine the dirt.

The mysterious per- er, Vaughn, dressed in a way that reminded her of a cowboy. He wore a black shirt with a brown vest, black jeans and two belts that overlapped. On his head, a black cowboy hat was placed. She had already seen his cold, amythest eyes and from under the hat, she saw strands of silver hair. Chelsea silently thanked god for not giving her pistolpetaphobia.

Chelsea, still fully aware of the cow's presence, shuffled on her feet awkwardly. "I-I have to, um, need to... I have to go..." Why was talking so hard?

Chelsea turned on her heel and left Vaughn on the bridge. When she reached her field, she looked sadly at the large area. It had so much potential and had been left in the hands of... her. Sighing, Chelsea started to head towards the house but froze remembering todays earlier catastrophe. Where was she meant to sleep now?!

Groaning, Chelsea took out her wallet and walked back over the bridge to the inn. It may be expensive but she'd rather waste her money than sleep in a room with an eight-legged creature. She knew it would eat her alive.

**Ta-da! Watcha think? I shall now explain all of the phobias mentioned so you don't have to look it up. Unless you already have... sucker.**

**Acrophobia - Fear of heights**

**Gelotophobia - Fear of being laughed at**

**Agrizoophobia - Fear of wild animals**

**Arachnophobia - Fear of spiders**

**Bathophobia - Fear of depths**

**Hydrophobia - Fear of water**

**Entomophobia - Fear of insects**

**Coulrophobia - Fear of clowns**

**Didaskaleinophobia - Fear of going to school**

**Bufonophobia - Fear of toads**

**Dishabiliophobia - Fear of undressing in front of someone**

**Ligyrophobia - Fear of loud sounds**

**Ophidiophobia - Fear of snakes**

**Scoleciphobia - Fear of worms**

**Lygophobia - Fear of dark**

**Ochlophobia - Fear of large crowds**

**Suriphobia - Fear of mice**

**Zoophobia - Fear of animals**

**Glossophobia - Fear of speaking**

**Haphephobia - Fear of being touched**

**Pistolpetaphobia - Fear of... Cowboys!**

**So, there you go. If I get positive feedback, I'll continue. If not, I'll just write it for my own personal reading. If I don't write down an idea, it won't go away. Anyways, hope you enjoyed. Peace! :)**


	2. Arachnophobia

**Oh my god, thank you guys soooooooo much! I really wanted to continue this story but I thought it would get awful feedback. A HUGE thanks to P. Nightingale, chelsietta and a guest for reviewing. Another HUGE thanks to P. Nightingale and chelsietta for following. And a HUGE HUGE thanks to chelsietta for favouriting. Now, the second chapter.**

_Chapter Two: Arachnophobia_

Chelsea woke up the next day in the inn. She sighed and got up. Rubbing her eyes and brushing her hair out of her face, she stood up and walked in to the bathroom. Her eyes landed on the shower. Should she? Chelsea quickly sniffed herself. She was fine. Hopefully. Besides, it had only been... 2 weeks since her last shower. Chelsea groaned.

The last 20 years of her life, to make her wash, her mother had to wait until she was asleep and then give her a bath while she was sleeping. What was she supposed to do now? How could she have a shower if she was living on her own? Hm, maybe she hadn't thought this moving thing through enough...

Chelsea quickly got changed, brushed her hair and washed her teeth, not using any water of course. She walked out of the hotel room, grabbing her rucksack and the key. She walked over to the counter and put the key on it before walking out.

Outside, it was bright and sunny. Children were playing catch while adults talked. Chelsea took a deep breath and started towards the farm. She needed to start if she planned on staying at the inn every night.

"Hey! Hey, wait up!"

Chelsea spun around at the sound of a voice. She saw a tan-skinned man with unruly brown hair tucked under a bandana running towards her. He was waving frantically at her. She froze as he stopped in front of her, gasping for air. Leaning his hands on his knees, he inhaled deep breaths.

"Sorry... Not... Very good... At running..."

He took in one final breath and stood up straight flashing her a brilliant smile. Chelsea felt her cheeks go pink. The man held out his hand for her to shake. Chelsea did so hesitantly and tried to forget her haphephobia. It didn't work and she froze up. Unlike the other man, Vaughn, this boy didn't let go of her hand.

"I'm Denny. I'm a fisherman. You are?"

Chelsea tried to find her voice but it was very hard with this boy clinging to her hand. He was invading her personal bubble. She managed to stutter out an answer.

"I-I, uh... I-I wa-, er, am... Chelsea?" Her voice raised an octave by the time she finished her answer and she sounded like she asked a question instead of answering one. The fisher, Denny, let out a laugh. Chelsea winced. He was laughing at her, wasn't he? He was making fun of her. His hand was still wrapped tightly around her's and he was laughing. Denny really wasn't making a good first impression on Chelsea.

"You're adorable!"

Chelsea felt her cheeks heat up again and looked down at the ground. If he didn't let go of her hand she might faint.

"U-Um... C-can I have, uh, my hand b-back?"

Denny looked down at their hands and grinned sheepishly. "Oh right!"

He let go of Chelsea's hand and she snatched it back quickly. She let out a sigh of relief and held both of her hands close to her. Denny rubbed the back of his neck and gave her another grin.

"I'll see you soon, right?"

Chelsea nodded slowly and turned, running back to her farm. Were all the residents this touchy-feely? She hoped not.

Chelsea looked at the field. It was covered in stones, branches, weeds, stumps and large rocks. She couldn't do this. It was too much work. But she had moved here now and bought the land. She might as well try. Chelsea nodded to herself and decided she would face her fears and start with the house.

Walking over to it slowly, she took out sickle. Maybe she could get rid of the spiderwebs with it. Worth a shot, right?

Chelsea opened the door and took one step inside. The house was very dark and dusty. She covered her nose to stop herself from sneezing. She held the sickle tightly and looked at the corner of the room. The beast was waiting for her, getting ready with it's venom. Chelsea tried to get closer, bringing the sickle up over her head. But all the spider had to do was move. And it did. It flexed its leg and cam down from its web, dangling in front of her face. Chelsea let out a loud scream and ran from the house. She slammed the door close behind her and leant against it, panting for breath.

"You alright?"

Chelsea looked up at the bridge. There was the cowboy, Vaughn, standing with a cow behind him. He was looking over at her with an eyebrow raised and a tiny bit of concern on his face.

Chelsea knew what she wanted to say. She wanted to stand up tall and cross her arms and say with a smile 'Yeah, I'm grand. Now, watcha doing here?' But, of course, that's not what happened. Instead she just shrunk against the door and buried her face in her hands, shaking her head furiously.

"Sp-spider..."

Vaughn gave her a funny look. Was she getting this worked up over a spider? Confused, he tied the cow to a post and walked over to the crying farmer girl. He gestured for her to move and she did quickly. Vaughn walked into the dark house. There were cobwebs everywhere. He turned to the girl, Chelsea.

"Where's the spider?"

She pointed to the corner. There, spinning a web, was a small money spider. It was a tiny little thing, just minding its own business. Vaughn gave her another look. Chelsea shrunk behind him, covering her eyes with her hands. Vaughn shrugged it off and reached a gloved hand out to grab the small, harmless creature. He turned around to Chelsea with the spider still in his hands. Her eyes were so wide they looked like they could have popped out of her head right there.

"It's tiny. What are you getting so worked up about?" Vaughn asked. He couldn't have anticipated Chelsea's reaction.

"G-Get it away from me! I-It'll eat me whole!"

Startled, Vaughn dropped the spider. It fell to the ground and began picking itself up. Vaughn saw a tiny little spider, attempting to keep living. Chelsea saw a terrifying beast, getting ready to eat her. It was slowly making its way towards her. Scared hopeless, Chelsea clung to Vaughn's arm, burying her face in it. Vaughn's face was now contorted into one of pure shock as he looked down at the small girl clinging to his arm. He tried to shake her off but it was pointless. For someone small, she had a tight grip.

"N-No! D-Don't let it eat me..."

Vaughn, left with no other choice, stepped on the spider and squished it under his boot. He winced at the thought that he had killed an innocent animal. He looked back over at Chelsea, who was staring at the floor in amazement.

"It's dead," Vaughn said simply.

Chelsea nodded, not fully believing the situation that had just happened. How did he do it? He just stepped on the deadly creature like no one's business. She couldn't help but imagine that the cowboy was some kind of hero in disguise. Who else could have been able to kill that terrifying creature without blinking? She let go of his arm and stared down at the floor. Vaughn, with his job done, walked out of the house. It took Chelsea a moment to realise he was gone. When she did, she ran out after him.

"W-Wait!"

Vaughn had taken hold of the rope wrapped around the cow's neck and was walking back towards the town. When he heard Chelsea's voice, he turned around.

"There's not another one, is there?" he asked.

Chelsea's cheeks went pink. Was he worried about her? Bringing herself back to reality, she shook her head.

"N-No, I, uh... I-I ju-just wanted to apologi- er, thank! I wanted to thank you. I-I kinda ha-have arachnophobia, s-so... Thanks..."

Vaughn gave her a curt nod. She had arachnophobia? He shrugged it off and turned to walk away again. But something stopped him. Chelsea grabbed on to his arm and looked up with big, watery eyes.

"C-Can you, um... C-Can you come over a-and help me again to-tomorrow? I-I-I'd really a-appr-appreciate it..."

Vaughn looked down at her with, what he hoped, a cold glare. He saw her falter and she adverted her gaze to her boots. Vaughn gave a loud sigh.

"Fine. I'll come over in the morning. 7ish."

With that, he left. Chelsea breathed deeply. Her eyes lit up a little. Now that the awful creature wasn't there anymore, should she stay in the house? Chelsea shook her head forcefully and walked towards the inn, taking out her wallet. Better safe than sorry, right?

**If any of you were confused, Chelsea's arachnophobia had contorted the stiny spider into a huge hairy one. Anyhoot, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Peace! :)**


	3. Glossophobia

**Yay~! I feel so happy this got a positive response! Big thank yous to: Cecily Rose Midnight, Pokka, P. Nightingale and AReader for reviewing! They make me happy :D**

_Chapter 3: Glossophobia_

_"And now introducing our next candidate, Chelsea!"_

_There was a roar of applause and a man in a red hat pushed Chelsea up to the podium. What was happening? Was this some kind of presidential debate? If it was, why the hell did she apply? Chelsea fearful eyes looked at the large crowd in front of her. She had to say something! Everyone was expecting her to!_

_"I-I... Um, wh-what is... Er..."_

_Silence. Complete and utter silence filled the room. Chelsea clutched her stomach. Any second now, she was going to lose her lunch and throw it up on the first and second rows. Suddenly, someone at the back started laughing. They stood up and pointed at her. Chelsea reconized him as the fisherman, Denny._

_"Freak! She can't even talk properly!"_

_He continued laughing. Eventually, others joined in with him and pointed and laughed at her. Her breathing got heavy and she started to cry uncontrolably._

_"Look! She can't speak and know she's crying too! Did you know she's also terrified of tiny spiders? What a baby!"_

_Chelsea looked over at the owner of the voice. In the corner of the room, Vaughn stood pointing a finger at her and smirking. Everyone laughed loudly, some even collapsing in fits of hysterics. Chelsea's legs buckled under her and she fell to the ground, weeping and sobbing, burying her face in her hands._

_"Hey, let's get rid of her! No one needs losers like her!"_

_The room nodded and began chanting, "Kill her! Kill her!" Two strong arms grabbed her weak ones and began pulling her away. Chelsea couldn't do anything. They flung her down a dark hole. The last thing she saw was Vaughn's smirking face before hitting the floor with a painful thud._

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Chelsea shot up from the bed, letting out a blood curling scream. She let out a strangled cough and put a hand over her beating heart. She was covered in sweat and her face was stained with tears. She tried to calm herself down. It was only a nightmare. Just a terrifying, horrific, smothering, petrifying nightmare.

Breathing deeply, Chelsea decided to take a quick walk. She pulled on a coat and put on her boots. She quickly grabbed a torch and walked outside. It was very dark and Chelsea, having lygophobia, turned on the torch almost immeadiatly after walking out. Holding the torch in one hand and fiddling with the buttons on her coat with the other, Chelsea made her way towards the beach.

After reaching the beach, Chelsea sat down on the sand and pulled her legs to her chest, hugging them. The nightmare still lingering on her mind, she tried to rationalise why it wasn't true. Well, for one, it clearly was some kind of presidential debate. Chelsea would never, ever, EVER sign up for something like that. Second, the person who exposed her was Vaughn. Chelsea didn't know him very well but he seemed like the person who was good at keeping secrets and didn't want attention to be attracted to him. So, if put in that position, she didn't think he'd yell at the top of his lungs about her arachnophobia. But you never know.

After another five minutes of staring at the sea, Chelsea decided to leave. She stood up and brushed the sand off of her pajama bottoms. Smoothing out her hair with one hand, she turned around and began walking back towards the entrance. The torch's light illuminated the route for her, making it fairly easy for her to walk home. But, every now and again, Chelsea would hear something and spin around frantically to make sure no one was behind her with a knife.

As she was nearing the inn, Chelsea heard the rustling of bushes behind her. Scared, she spun around and shone the light on them. Nothing. Just the wind. Letting out a sigh of relief, Chelsea turned back to continue to the inn. However, blocking her path to the inn, her eyes met someone's chest. She did the first reaction that came to mind and let out a loud scream. A hand clamped over her mouth and someone frantically shushed her.

"Are you crazy?! You'll wake the whole neighbourhood!" a deep voice hissed.

Chelsea opened her eyes and looked up at her attacker. Concerned amethyst eyes glared back at her. Chelsea knew those eyes. After determining that she wouldn't scream again, they removed their hand.

"V-Vaughn? I-Is that y-you?"

The shadow figure, now known as Vaughn, nodded.

"Er, yeah. I saw you wanderin' around and came down to see what you were up to. A lady shouldn't be walkin' around alone at this hour. You don't know who may get at you."

Chelsea only stood in shock, repeatedly opening and closing her mouth. She wanted to say something but couldn't find the correct words. So, in the end, she ended up just saying:

"U-um... Thanks?"

Vaughn let out a small sigh. This girl was just as bad, if not worse, at conversation then he was. He watched as she unbuttoned and rebuttoned the top button on her coat. There was a very awkward silence until Vaughn finally decided to say something.

"Come on. You can come in to the place I'm stayin' at for a moment. I'll fix you up with a hot drink."

Chelsea stared at him as he retreated back to the barn-like house with her mouth open. Vaughn turned back around with an irratated glare. "You comin' or not?" She nodded and followed him quickly.

Vaughn held the door open as Chelsea walked in. The house was very cosy looking. The front part of the house was some kind of shop with a counter and cash register. To the right, there was an arch that lead into the kitchen come dining room. There was a flight of stairs that went up to the second floor where, presumably, the bedrooms were. The walls were decorated with portraits, horse-shoes and lassoes. Chelsea followed Vaughn into the kitchen and sat down at the table gingerly.

"Tea, hot chocolate, milk, coffee, hot milk?" Vaughn asked.

"O-oh... Um, hot milk... P-please," she replied. Vaughn nodded and poured some milk into a pot. He placed it on the stove and began to heat it up. Chelsea watched with fascination; She never was good at cooking. Everything she tried to cook ended up failing. Vaughn took the pot of heated milk and poured it into two cups. He brought them over to the table and carefully handed one to Chelsea. She took it gratefully and began sipping away at the delicious drink. Vaughn sat across from her and began taking a sip from his own drink. When it was half empty, he put it down and turned to Chelsea.

"So, why were you wanderin' around town at the dead of night?" he asked, eyeing her suspiously. Even still, Chelsea felt uncomfortable under his gaze and began to fidget and blush nervously.

"I-I, um... I-I had a ni-nightmare and I, er, I couldn't g-go back to sl-slee-sleep," she stuttered, staring into her cup.

Vaughn dipped his finger into the milk and began stirring it around absent-mindedly. "What was it 'bout?"

Chelsea began unbuttoning and rebuttoning the top button on her coat. Could she trust him? He probably already thought she was a freak with her arachnophobia, could she tell him about another phobia she had? Her thoughts trailed back to the dream, where he had outed her about her fear of the eight-legged creatures, and she winced.

"You don't have to," Vaughn added, after seeing her hesitate. To be honest, he was very curious about the small farm girl. It was pretty clear to him that spiders weren't the only thing she was scared of.

Chelsea took a long sip of the milk, still thinking about telling him. Biting her lip, she decided to take the risk and confide in him and told him about the nightmare. Vaughn listened closely as she described the fear she felt when she stepped up to the podium, the embarrassment when listening to the laughter directed at her and the sinking feeling when he yelled out fear of spiders. When she finished, Chelsea looked down at her hands, blushing. Vaughn closed his eyes and processed the information she had given him.

"So, you have glossophobia as well?" he asked, hoping the question hadn't come out rude. She looked up in shock, pink still dusting her cheeks, and nodded slowly.

"H-How did you..?"

Vaughn only shrugged and leant back in his chair. "I studied medicine in college for a year before I dropped out. You described the feelin' of havin' to talk as 'terrifying' and 'smothering'. Pair that with how embarrassed you felt afterwards and you have yourself a case of glossophobia."

Chelsea looked back down at her hands and began to unbutton and rebutton the top button once more. Clearly a nervous habit, Vaughn thought. He drank the rest of the milk and put his cup into the sink. Chelsea finished her's off and followed suit. She still felt very nervous. It was like being back at the psychiatrist, only the room wasn't white, they were offering her hot milk instead of coffee and the shrink wasn't dressed in a white coat and insisting this was for your own good.

Vaughn looked down at the timid girl. He rubbed the back of his neck, was he willing to go this far for someone he didn't know very well? But she reminded him of himself so much...

"I-I think I'll go b-back hom-, er... B-back to the i-inn... Th-thanks for the mi-milk..."

Before she could turn away, Vaughn said something that caught her interest. "I used to have glossophobia too."

Chelsea froze and looked at him. He had it too? Or used to have it? How had he gotten rid of it? Did it leave him feeling happy? Or was he upset for all the years of socializing he lost? Chelsea sat back down on the seat, her eyes wide with shock. She watched as he fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Yeah, when I was nine I was diagnosed with glossophobia too. After I found out, I hardly came out of my room and avoided talkin' with everyone. When I turned fifteen, my foster parents arranged for me to see a psychiatrist every week. I eventually lost it but it did major damage to my social skills. I don't stutter anymore but I try to avoid conversation as much as possible."

Chelsea listened with both a mixture of shock and happiness. She felt happy that Vaughn had managed to get over his glossophobia. She was still shocked that she had found someone who could relate to her problems. Vaughn could see the look of admiration Chelsea was giving him and made a rash, on-the-spot, decision.

"There is no shrink on the island but, if you want, I can run over some of the exercises I did with him and try to help you over your glossophobia. O-Only if you want though..."

Chelsea's eyes widened and her mouth fell open. "W-Would you..? C-Could you?!"

Vaughn nodded slowly, not used to the look of pure joy and idolisation aimed at him. Chelsea squealed loudly and grinned broadly. She probably would have hugged Vaughn if she hadn't had haphephobia. She gave him a giant smile and skipped towards the door.

"Th-thanks so much, V-Vaughn! Y-You don't know how m-much this m-me-means to me!"

Letting out one more squeal of joy, she skipped out of the house and back towards the inn.


	4. Gelotophobia

**Thanks to Pokka, moonchildaneki, Cecily Rose Midnight and P. Nightingale for reviewing!**

_Chapter 4: Gelotophobia_

Chelsea woke up in the inn the next morning. She went through her usual morning rituals, such as get dressed, wash teeth with no water and brush hair, but wearing a huge grin. Today, Vaughn was going to help her get over her glossophobia. Chelsea could only close her eyes and dream of the results. How she had longed to be rid of this disease. She could hardly contain her excitment as she skipped outside, putting the key on the reception desk. Completly in her own world, she bumped into someone. They caught her wrist and pulled her upright before she could fall.

"Watch your step. Don't want to fall, right?"

Chelsea looked up at her saviour. It was a man, about her age, maybe older. He had blond hair tucked underneath a cap and shining emerald eyes. He was wearing a bit of a goofy grin. Chelsea's body froze up and her cheeks went pink. He was still holding her wrist...

"I'm Mark. I'm a travelling college student, studying agricultural science," he said, letting go of her wrist (Much to Chelsea's delight) and scratching the back of his neck. "I was going to buy the farm here but someone else got here before I could," he continued.

"O-Oh..." Chelsea didn't know what to say. It was pretty scary, having your rival for the farm standing in front of you. She began to feel guilty as negative thoughts filled her head. _'What if he has a family he needs to pay for? What if he has a sickly sibling and needs to pay their medical bills? What if he's running away from loan sharks or drug dealers and he owes them money? Will he try to run her off the farm? Will he bribe Taro into giving him the farm?_ With every thought, Chelsea felt herself shrinking and shrinking more in shame. Mark raised an eyebrow and smiled at her.

"You're the new rancher, aren't you?" he asked. Chelsea reluctantly nodded, waiting for the declaration of war and rivalry. Instead, his smile widened.

"Woah, really? I was expecting a huge, burly fella, not a cute girl!"

Despite the darkening of her face, Chelsea didn't quite know how to take his compliment. Was he complimenting her or insulting her? Was he saying she was cute or was he saying that he could look after the farm better than her? She may have many, many fears but discrimination against women was something she was fully against.

Mark must have realised his mistake and wave his arms around frantically. "No, no, no! Jeez, that came out wrong. Um..."

In spote of herself, Chelsea found Mark's outburst rather funny and a small giggle escaped her lips, causing Mark to turn pink. "I-It's okay. I-I know wh-what you're t-tr-trying to say..."

Mark let out a sigh of relief and lifted a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Thanks. Sorry again, I'm not very good at wording. Anyways, I'll see you around? I'm staying at the inn," he said, pointing to the building Chelsea had come out of not two minutes ago. Mark waved at her before walking inside. Feeling refreshed and happy, she walked down the road to her farm.

Her happy mood disappeared when she saw the field. It was overrun with weeds. Chelsea looked at her watch. It was 6:10. She had fifty minutes to try and get rid of some of the weeds. Taking out her trusty sickle, Chelsea began hacking away at the weed, starting in the middle of the field and slowly making her way out. She eventually got into a smooth rhythm and found that she was enjoying herself.

Looking up for a moment to wipe her forehead, Chelsea saw someone running towards her. She frowned; It was only 6:30. Vaughn didn't need to be here for another half hour. But when the figure was closer, Chelsea could see that it was not Vaughn. It was a man, around her age once again, with salmon pink hair. He ran up to her, out of breath and gasping for air. Standing up straight, he gingerly held out his hand.

"Hello, I'm Elliot. I'm Taro's grandson. He told me that I should meet the new farmer."

Chelsea slowly took his hand with about as much enthusiasm as he had given it to her. That is, not very enthusiastically at all. Thankfully, he pulled back quickly, pink dusting his cheeks. Chelsea cleared her throat and gave him a meek smile. "H-Hi, Elliot. I-I'm Ch-Che-Chelsea..."

Elliot returned her smile with one of his own. Feeling a little more comfortable, Chelsea's body relaxed and she shifted her weight to one foot. Elliot was a lot like her, she thought. Shy, meek, maybe they could be friends?

Elliot gave a small cough. "Well, I better be going. Nice meeting you Chelsea." Giving her a small wave, he walked back over the bridge. Chelsea smiled to herself and picked up the sickle again, tackling the weeds.

...

7:00 arrived quicker than Chelsea expected. By the time Vaughn passed the bridge, she had cleared more than half of the field. Although he tried to hide it, it was clear in his eyes that he was impressed.

Chelsea, eager to start, waved at him from the field. She skipped up to him and smiled.

"Wh-what do you think..? I-I thin-think I did rather w-well for one d-day..."

Vaughn nodded, scanning the field. It was clear of almost all weeds. The only part that wasn't was the strip of land near the river. Vaughn's brow furrowed as he glanced back and forth, from the river to Chelsea. Chelsea could see he was making a connection that she didn't want him to make and piped up quickly.

"U-Um! C-Can we clear out the ho-house of any spi-spiders before we be-beg-begin..?"

Vaughn nodded and they began walking towards the house, but Vaughn's head would turn to look at the water every so often. There had to be a reason why she didn't go near the strip of land closest to water. He wanted to bring it up but the look on Chelsea's face made him reconsider. She was wearing a look of fear, as if someone was going to going to discover a deadly secret about her. So, he dropped it and began clearing the house of spiders and cobwebs, while Chelsea cowered at the door, holding her sickle close. Vaughn made sure not to drop any of them this time.

It only took an hour before the house was spider-free. All that was left for her to do was buy furniture and wash the floors, curtains and bedsheets. When they had finished, Chelsea looked over at Vaughn, a small smile gracing her lips. It was clear she wanted to start her sessions. Vaughn still wasn't used to all the smiling and admirable looks he was getting from her.

"We'll go back to the animal shop. That's where I'm stayin'," he grunted, walking out of the house. Chelsea put her sickle back in the bag and followed him. As they approached the shop, she began to fiddle with the top button on her overcoat. Vaughn opened the door for her and let her through.

"Vaughn, you're back! Oh! Who's this?" A woman came out from the kitchen, holding a tea towel. She had short blonde hair and kind blue eyes, a lighter colour than Chelsea's. She smiled warmly at Chelsea and turned to Vaughn, raising an eyebrow for an explanation.

"This is Chelsea. She's the new farmer," said Vaughn, gesturing slightly to Chelsea. Mirabelle smiled at the farmer again and turned to the kitchen.

"Julia, we have a guest!" she called in a singsong voice. Out from the kitchen came another blonde, her long hair tied up in a high ponytail. She had the same light blue eyes as Mirabelle.

The girl, Julia, bowed her head, smiling politely at Chelsea. "Hey, I'm Julia. You must be the new farmer, yeah?"

Chelsea nodded her head, slowling becoming more and more uncomfortable with each new person who entered the room. True, Julia and Mirabelle seemed like lovely people but being nice doesn't help anyone with ochlophobia. Vaughn seemed to notice her discomfort and began to push her gently in the direction of the stairs. He motioned for her to head up and turned to the two women who were shooting him confused glances.

"She has glossophobia, so I said I'd run her through a few exercises I did with my shrink when I had it," Vaughn explained quickly. Julia nodded and Mirabelle shot him an impressed smile before ushering Julia back into the kitchen. Before she left she turned around to him quickly.

"I'll bring you two up some milk later," she said before following her daughter into the kitchen. Vaughn turned back to the stairs. Sitting on the top step was Chelsea, with her elbows resting against her knees and her cheek in her palm. She looked like a child waiting for their parent to tuck them into bed. When she saw Vaughn, she stood up quickly and brushed of her pants.

Vaughn walked down the small hallway and opened the door on the right. Chelsea followed him into the room. It was very plain and basic, with a wooden floor board and cream walls. The bed had a white duvet sheets with a dark blue throw at the end. Opposite the bed was a small desk. It was small but comfortable and cosy. Vaughn sat down on the bed and motioned for Chelsea to sit next to him. She did, but did it very carefully.

"I'm an animal trader. Mirabelle and Julia own the animal shop so I stay with them. I leave for the mainland every two weeks and stay in the city for another week before returning back here," explained Vaughn. Chelsea nodded as her eyes wandered around the room.

Vaughn kicked off his boots and took off his hat before turned to the petite girl, who was sitting rather tensely, with her legs crossed. He decided to start by trying to get her to relax.

"You're sittin' rather stiffly. I ain't goin' to hurt you, you know," he said. Chelsea's cheeks went a light pink as she uncrossed her legs and slowly turned to meet Vaughn's gaze. He let out a puff of air and ran his hands through his silver hair.

"Okay, so how do you feel when you start to talk?" God that sounded stupid. He really was not a great psychiatrist. But there was no one else to do this, so he had to suck it up and deal with this himself.

"O-Okay well, um, I-I get nervous th-that I'm going to s-say the wr-wro-wrong thing..." she said slowly, studying her hands closely.

"You're the one who's speakin'. It's always your opinion. You can't really say the wrong thing," Vaughn countered. Chelsea began to draw circles on the floor with her boot.

"W-well... The thi-thing is I, um... I had- have! I h-have..." Her voice trailed off and she mumbled the last sentence. Vaughn showed on his face that he didn't hear her. She said it again, a little louder but still inaudible. When he didn't say anything, she cleared her throat and said "I-I kinda ha-have gelotophobia... F-Fear of be-being la-laughed a-at..."

Vaughn nodded slowly, processing the info while leaning on his hands. Chelsea's eyes slammed shut, waiting for the laughter and humiliation. It didn't come. She opened one eye and glanced quickly at Vaughn, to see him giving her a soft look. Her cheeks turning bright red, she closed her eyes again.

"Well, that does make things a little bit difficult, don't it?" he mused, scratching the back of his neck. Chelsea nodded, still red in the face. Her breathing became heavy and she stared at her boots. Vaughn cleared his throat, making her look up at him.

"I've noticed that you met Mark. What's your impression of him?"

Chelsea was taken aback by the question. This hadn't been what she was inspecting. Looking at him with one eye, she answered. "W-Well... He seems o-okay, I-I guess... I don't kn-know him w-well enough to make a judgement..."

Vaughn leant forward on the bed and gave her a small, microscopical smile. "You stuttered a lot when you were speakin' to him. I saw you talkin' to him, I was out in the barn. You don't stutter half as much when you're talkin' to me. You've even improved from last night," he commented. Chelsea's cheeks turned pink but a small smile appeared on her face.

"I-I feel comfortable around y-you, I guess. I-I don't think y-you'd hurt m-me..." she explained.

Vaughn nodded and smirked. "Well, there's your first step. I know it's difficult but you gotta stop thinkin' that everyone is judgin' you and talkin' about you behind your back. Maybe in the city you should be afraid of that, or school or something, but on this island? Everyone's so nice it's ridiculous. The only nasty one's me. And if you can deal with me, you can deal with any of 'em."

Chelsea giggled lightly. There was a knock on the door before Mirabelle opened it and walked in, carrying two cups of hot milk. She set them down on the dresser beside the bed and left quickly, smiling at the two young adults before she left. Vaughn gave her a nod of acknowledgement and Chelsea smiled faintly before turning back to Vaughn.

"S-So my whole f-fear of speaking comes f-from the f-fear of being laughed at?" she confirmed. Vaughn gave her a firm nod.

"Now, you know I ain't gonna laugh at you. I want you to speak real slow, and try not to stutter once. I don't care if it sounds stupid. Go ahead."

Chelsea took a deep breath. This was harder than you think. She spoke very slowly, very clearly and with no stuttering. "My...name...is...Chel...sea..." Her eyes lit up and she grinned widely. Vaughn returned it with a small smile.

"Go again. Quicker."

"My name...is...Chelsea..." Even Vaughn's smile was getting slightly bigger by the minute.

"Quicker," he pushed.

"My name is...Chelsea." Her eyes were almost watering with happiness. Not once in her life had she talked to anyone, not even her own parents, without stuttering. And she was doing it now!

"See if you can do it with no pauses."

Chelsea gulped, took a deep breath and straighened up, smiling at Vaughn.

"My name is Chelsea. Nice to meet you."

**Aw! She's improving! Sooo... I'm going to Irish College for three weeks. So this story and any others won't be updated. Guys, I'm terrified! Anyhoot, please review. Peace! :)**


	5. Ochlophobia

_Chapter 5: Ochlophobia_

Chelsea stared at Vaughn like he had three heads. Why did he think she would be able to do this? She had only stopped stuttering around him a few days ago! This was much to big of a task!

"I don't think I can," she mumbled for the third time. Vaughn sighed irratably. It wasn't that big a deal.

"Chelsea, I'm only askin' you to go and have a conversation with Julia. She's your age, too nice for her own good and mighty polite and welcomin'. I don't see what you're afraid of," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. Chelsea could see how much she was annoying him and felt bad. She glanced towards the door, biting her lip. It's now or never...

Without a word, Chelsea walked out of the door and down the stairs, into the kitchen where the blonde was washing dishes. She noticed Chelsea's presence and looked up, smiling.

"Well, hello there. You're Vaughn's friend, right? We were never introduced properly, were we? I'm Julia. My ma runs the shop and I help. Vaughn's the animal trader, he stays here while on the islands," she said, a smile plastered on her face. Chelsea swallowed and managed a small, shy smile of her own. She knew that smiling made you seem nice and approachable so might as well put that skill into action.

"H-Hello, m-my name is Chelsea. I-I run the farm here..." said Chelsea, looking down at the floor shyly.

Julia smiled and giggled. "You're mighty cute, you know. Vaughn told us that you have glossophobia and he's helping you with it. I have to say though, you seem to be pretty good with managing your stuttering. I thought you'd stutter a lot more."

Chelsea grinned at the statement. Her lessons were already kicking in! Julia sat down at the table and motioned for Chelsea to do the same. She did so, running her fingers over the design on the table. Julia rested her elbows on the table and her head in her hands, looking at the shy girl with the same soft expression you'd give a puppy.

"It's nice you get on well with Vaughn. After his years of not being able to talk properly, he sorta finds it hard to make friends. He misses social cues and can't read people's expressions very well. He also has a very logical way of thinking and finds it hard to put himself in other people's places so making friends is hard. It's so cool to see him talk to you so effortlessly, even it is often about your lessons."

"Vaughn h-has been very kind t-to me." Chelsea whispered, almost inaudibly. "I-I really appreciate e-everything he h-has done for me..."

Julia smiled and nodded. Suddenly an idea popped into her head and she grinned at the girl in front of her. "Hey, I'm throwing a beach party tomorrow, Saturday, you wanna come? Vaughn will be there too!"

Chelsea knew what a beach party meant. Water. Lots and lots of water. But how could she refuse without seeming rude?! Out of pure social awkwardness, she nodded her head and smiled shyly.

"S-Sure, w-why not? I-I don't own a sw-swimsuit though..." she said, hoping that Julia might catch the hint that she did not want to go swimming.

Julia, however, waved her hand in dismissing gesture. "Don't worry 'bout it. I have tons of spare swimsuits, you can borrow some! I reckon you're more of a one-piece kind than the bikini kind. Here, come on up to my room and we'll try on a few!"

The next half hour was spent stuffing Chelsea into swimsuit after swimsuit. Julia finally gave her a loan of a red one-piece, as well as a white sundress and a pair of flip flops. She _also_ offered to do Chelsea's hair before hand _and _introduce her to some of the young people of the island. Vaughn was right about Julia. She was really nice. Chelsea even managed to stutter a little less around her.

As the time approached five, Julia released Chelsea from her room with a small bag full of the clothes she was borrowing.

"So, Vaughn wants to meet you at the diner. I told him I'd send you on your way," Julia said as they reached the door.

Chelsea smiled shyly and bowed her head. "Th-thank you very much f-for today, Julia. I kinda enjoyed myself..."

Julia laughed and gave the smaller girl a quick hug. "No prob. Friends, yeah?"

Chelsea eye's lit up so much you'd swear someone replace them with street lights. She nodded enthusiastically and gave her a small wave, turning to walk down the path to East Town. She could hear Julia calling out goodbyes and then the door closing. Chelsea smiled to herself. She had only been here six days and already made two friends. This kept the smile on her face all the way to the diner.

When she reached the diner, Chelsea opened the door slowly, walked in and nearly fainted. The amount of people here! Everyone on the island must have been in the diner. Chelsea could feel herself getting light-headed and dizzy. Desperate to sit down, her eyes scanned the crowded room for Vaughn. She found him. At the back. Coughing and holding her head with one hand, she made her way through the crowd. After what felt like hours, she collapsed in the seat across from him. Vaughn shot her a concerned look and reached across the table to feel her forehead.

"You okay? You're lookin' a little green..."

If she hadn't been red before, she was now. Ducking down to hide her blushing face, Chelsea massaged her stomach with her hand.

"I have ochlophobia. Fear of large crowds."

Vaughn's eyes increased in size by a fraction and he bit his lip. "Really? I didn't know it would be this busy. Do you wanna leave?"

Chelsea shook her head before replacing back in her hands, where it had been lying. "No, no, it's alright. I don't want to cause you any hastle."

Vaughn gave her an irratated glare and sigh. "Do you know what will cause me hastle though? When you faint because you have ochlophobia and didn't want to cause me any hastle! It wasn't a question, we're leavin'."

He stood up and grabbed her wrist. Chelsea's body froze up and her fingers began to twitch but he didn't notice. Vaughn proceeded to walk through the diner, waving a hand in front of him to clear the way. When they finally reached the door, he opened it and shoved her outside. Chelsea fell to her knees, quivering and twitching weirdly. She tried to clear her mind but the only thing that was cleared was her stomach, of all of its contents. She vomited up her breakfast and lunch and collapsed into the pool of sick. Her conscious slowly left her, the last thing she heard was Vaughn yelling her name.

...

Chelsea eyes slowly flickered open. She was lying in a strange bed. The walls were a baby blue colour and the carpet was a soft, fuzzy white. She could feel something wet on her forehead and reached up to touch it. Water trickled down her face. Chelsea watched it with fearful eyes.

Suddenly, the door opened, causing her to jump. Julia walked in with a bowl of soup and a cup of hot milk. When she saw that Chelsea was awake, her eyes lit up and she put the tray on the bedside locker and pulled over a chair beside the bed.

"Oh, you're awake! How are you feeling? You gave Vaughn a mighty big fright, ya know."

Chelsea's face darkened in both guilt and embarrassment. Julia noticed but decided not to say anything. She took the tray and placed it on Chelsea's lap. It was chicken soup and it smelled heavenly.

"Eat," Julia ordered. "Ma makes the best chicken soup. You'll feel ten times better."

Chelsea picked up the spoon and dipped it into the soup. She brought it up to her mouth and tasted it. The flavours danced on her taste buds and she gulped down the soup hungerly. Julia giggled and left the room with the tray, leaving the hot milk on the bedside locker. Chelsea lay her head back down on the pillow and closed her eyes again.

...

When she woke up again, someone was sitting on the chair beside her bed. She slowly moved her head to see Vaughn, fast asleep. She managed a small smile and propped hrself up in the bed. Vaughn heard her stir and woke up suddenly. He let out a loud yawn and his gaze shifted towards the small girl.

"Glad to see you're doin' okay. I got a bit of a fright when you collapsed. I had to carry you all the way back here. Julia cleaned you up and put you into her bed. How are you feelin' now?"

Chelsea nodded. "Much better, thanks."

Vaughn gave her a small nod and sank back into the chair. He watched as Chelsea took small sips out of her cup and then set it down on the locker. He took off his hat, ran his fingers through his hair and replaced it again.

"So, how did the talk with Julia go?"

Chelsea's eyes brightened and she told him about her conversation, the invitation and her new friend. Vaughn had to try very hard to conceal a smile; It was like hearing a five year old talk about their first day at school.

When she was done, Chelsea felt a large amount of fatigue come over her. She settled back into the bed and closed her eyes again. Vaughn removed the wet cloth and replaced it with a new one before leaving and turning off the lights.

**I'm back from Irish College! It was actually really fun! I'm going off to Cornwall now for two weeks so... Sorry for the late update.**


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